Winter Serenade
by singingofgallifrey
Summary: We hooked up last night for a one-night-stand and now it turns out that you are my child's teacher.' Romana/Narvin/Braxiatel AU.
1. Chapter 1

Braxiatel entered the ballroom where the Academy fundraising event was taking place. It was an annual event at Prydonian Academy for they supported some well known charities and the headmaster and governors at Prydonian Academy thought it would be a most excellent idea to put on an event to raise more money and to gain more publicity for their school which was now reaching far and wide for international students. Some as far as Australia itself.

There was over than a hundred people if not more attending and he grabbed himself a cool, glass of whisky that they were offering amongst the refreshments. One of the best things about these fundraising parties were the drinks they had to offer for they had some of the finest beverages available which pleased Braxiatel to no end. Of course, nothing to the extent of his own personal alcoholic Collection that he keeps at home but it was second to none and it was _free._

He talked to a few people, chatting away politely but mostly he observed. He liked to observe and study people. It was interesting because one can tell a person's secrets and passions were by just watching their facial expressions and he knew there were many secrets in this room when he felt a pair of eyes staring at him from across the room.

He paused for just a second, raising his glass of whisky to his lips as he tried to make out who was staring at him and from across the ball room where people were standing and chatting whilst classical music played in the background which he recognised as Tchaikovsky Swan Lake. How fitting to have such a piece of music for a winter ball.

He spotted a man with dark eyes staring at him and their eyes met for a brief second before the other man's eyes drew away and continued talking to a woman with short blond hair, looking extremely beautiful in her extravagant red dress. He didn't recognize either of the couple- presuming that they _were_ a couple and decided to make his way across to his colleague, Wynter who only stood a few feet away from them.

Wynter was relatively new and taught fitness and sports to the children but nonetheless, he was still learning even for a teacher and was nice to everybody. Perhaps too nice for his own good which could make him an easy target to be manipulated amongst the politics of the school.

"Hello Wynter," Braxiatel greeted cheerfully and he held out his hand.

Wynter turned and smiled, shaking his hand as he saw him. "Brax! Glad you could make it to the party in the end. How have you been?"

Braxiatel shrugged. "Perfectly well actually. I've heard you have been working with one of our students, Leela?"

"Oh yes! I'm making Leela my apprentice. She's a very keen sports player and I think she can achieve so much more if she had the right guidance. She's one of the best rugby and football players I have seen. The other day, she ended up having a broken nose but still, she continued to play as though it was nothing! It was incredible!"

Braxiatel wasn't exactly interested or passionate about sports or P.E, not even when he was a child. Oh, he did fencing and horse riding but that was about as much enthusiastic he could get for sports. He mainly taught theatre and law but for Wynter's sake, he tried to make it appear as though he was interested. "Oh?"

"Her parents are here tonight as well. I would like you to meet them." Without another word, Wynter led a half-protesting Braxiatel over to the couple he had seen across the ballroom earlier.

"Wynter." The man who Braxiatel had locked eyes with greeted pleasantly. "Glad you are here."

"Hello Narvin, Romana." Wynter gave Romana a nod and a smile. Romana being the woman with the short, blonde hair and extravagant red dress that matched her red lipstick. The lady in crimson-she would have made a beautiful Queen. "I would like to introduce you both to a colleague of mine; Professor Irving Braxiatel. He teaches Law and sometimes theatre."

"Hello Professor Braxiatel," Romana greeted him, pleasantly shaking his hand, her dainty fingers curling around his.

Braxiatel shook hers firmly for Narvin didn't appear to be offering his own hand out anytime soon. "My lady, call me Irving, please. We are outside School formalities, are we not?"

"Quite." Romana agreed with him. "Are you not the very same man who runs the famous Braxiatel Collection? My husband and I were just talking about it earlier."

As well as being a Professor, Braxiatel also ran a private Collection in the countryside. It was one of the best Collections, if not _the_ best Collection. It was a Collection of simply everything ranging from art, lost plays and even rare specimen. "I sincerely hope so. There is only _one_ Irving Braxiatel running around the universe-" Wynter and the other man let out a snort of laughter. "Have you visited there, my lady?"

A faint blush crept across Romana's cheeks as he called her ' _my lady_.' She and her husband had been staring at him from across the room, both finding him incredibly attractive. On the plus side, he was charming as well as attractive and it appears, intelligent. The blush disappeared just as quickly as it had appeared and she took a sip of her red wine. "Yes. It is very impressive. My husband Narvin however, doesn't think so."

Narvin pressed his lips together. He figured that Braxiatel was the one to enjoy the arts. "It is not that I do not find it impressive, I just have very little interest for art nor the time for it."

"And what do you have an interest in, Narvin?" Braxiatel asked, taking another sip of his whisky.

"I'm a technician." Narvin's face flushed red when Braxiatel questioned him. Narvin did hate being the centre of attention of conversations and it was normally his wife who took charge but this felt different, felt almost like someone having their first crush all over again.

"He also makes a very good handy man. He does a lot of the DIY projects at home." Romana continued with a smile curling up on her face, her eyes focusing on her husband. "When he puts his mind to it."

"So I see." Braxiatel replied with a smile as he saw Narvin's face flush red. Braxiatel was well aware he was a charming person and more often than not, he liked to flirt shamelessly with people who took an interest in him and who he took an interest in. He moved a little closer, a smile dancing on his lips. "Then perhaps you can come around to my Collection sometime and fix things for me."

"Like what?" The other man asked curiously. He didn't normally do favours for other people unless it was within his business. But perhaps he could make Braxiatel an exception. He cast a glance at his wife before looking back at Braxiatel.

"For one, the lights in my office need replacing completely and I could do with my vinyl being fixed."

"A vinyl?" Narvin looked intrigued at this. "An old fashioned one or one of those new ones that the children these days seem to want?"

"A very old, Vinyl record player. A Music centre with a phonograph horn to be exact."

"I'm going to get another drink. Care to join me?" Romana asked, needing to change the topic quickly as she realised she and Narvin were both getting rather flustered with Braxiatel and the room temperature seemed to have gone up all of a sudden. The man was rather attractive and Romana wasn't sure if it was the drink that was making her think like this or if it was Braxiatel's rather charming personality. Or both.

"A whisky, if you please." Braxiatel handed Romana his glass and gave her the money, paying the three of them. "Let me pay. They have excellent wine and whisky here if I do say so myself."

"You are too kind," Narvin replied somewhat dryly as the three of them walked over to the bar to get another drink, Wynter was already chatting to somebody else.

"Narvin is a highly unusual name. I do not think I have heard it before." Braxiatel commented and though he couldn't talk for his surname was just as unusual. "Neither yours, my lady Romana's."

"It's Welsh," Narvin replied with a smile as he took the glass of beer from his wife, sipping it. "My family come from Swansea. I'm not surprised if you haven't heard of it."

"They're both unique names although Romana is the feminine version of Rome. _Romana and Narvin_." Braxiatel rolled the names off his tongue, purring slightly.

Romana shivered with a slight delight when she heard Braxiatel purr. "As is your name, Braxiatel. I believe you used to be Lungbarrow?" She inquired, remembering reading about Irving changing his surname in a newspaper about him being a Lungbarrow before he changed his name to Braxiatel.

"That is correct, my lady." He nodded, raising the whisky glass to his nose, letting it breathe for a second or two as he inhaled the strong smell before he took another sip of the bitter liquid. "I was brought up in a...ah, very dysfunctional family shall we say. I thought it was best to change my surname to give me a fresh start. Especially if I was going to be an international Collector."

Romana's hands touched Braxiatel's shoulder before she gently moved her hand down to his hands where she barely ghosting over his fingers. Narvin's eyes flickered up to his own and Braxiatel had a slight shiver down his spine underneath her relaxing touch. He wasn't quite sure if she was aware she was doing it or if she was drunk from the alcohol. Either way, he wasn't about to complain but he had wondered why Narvin wasn't stopping his wife from being so close to another man. But then he _had_ seen how Narvin looked at him from across the ballroom earlier.

Narvin began to lead the three of them of them to a quite area, away from the party. "So I see," Narvin commented. He took Braxiatel's empty whisky glass of him and put it down on a nearby table. "We would like you to come with us." It wasn't a command as such, merely a suggestion and one Braxiatel found himself following too.

"Where too?"

"We have private quarters upstairs. We thought it would be safer to stay the night rather than drink and drive," Romana explained as she began to leave the ball up and up the grand decor staircase.

Braxiatel sent a look at Narvin. "I must protest."

"Must _you_? At what?"

"Going to bed with you two." He cleared his throat, shifting as he suddenly found himself slightly uncomfortable which was saying something and he ran his finger alongside his collar, loosening it and went to unfasten the top button. Was it him or was it extremely warm in here? "Will it not disturb your marriage? I do not want to be a home-wrecker or gain a reputation as one. That's the last thing I need."

"You're not a home-wrecker. Besides, we want you with us Braxiatel. The both of us do and we wouldn't have suggested you come to bed otherwise. Romana's and my marriage is tight but we have been watching you from afar now for a while. We are intrigued by you."

Braxiatel waggled his eyebrows. So they _did_ know who he was. "Intrigued by me you say?"

Narvin groaned. His assumptions of Braxiatel were correct-he _was_ incredibly vain. "Please don't go all egotistical. The last thing we need is to accidentally boost your ego."

He couldn't help but let out a laugh. "You say that as though it is a bad thing."

"Let's find out then shall we?" Romana suggested and he could see out of the corner of his eyes Romana's lips curling up into a sly smile as she listened to their conversation before she pushed the doors of their bedroom open and into their lair.

One way or another, Braxiatel was going to make sure he was going to enjoy every single minute of himself.


	2. Chapter 2

The first thing that Braxiatel noticed the next morning was a banging migraine he could feel as plain as day and he let out a groan of pain. The last time he had a hangover like this was when he and his friend Bernice celebrated their first successful week running the Collection and tried that new "Draconian Brandy" but whatever the alcohol he had drunken last night was either very strong or he had one too many.

The second thing he noticed was that he was not in his own bed and a fluff of blonde hair was lying across his face like a blanket that moved slightly every time he breathed in front of him and behind he could feel someone lying next to him.

The third thing he noticed was that he was not in his own bed.

He gingerly removed the hair away from his mouth, removing whatever hair was there and shaking his hand slightly to get rid of it and ever so carefully, he sat up.

The bed creaked loudly and he winced.

next to him shifted and he carefully shifted upwards so that his bum was perched on the pillows and removed his legs from under the covers and paused. Both and Romana were still both deeply asleep.

He then began the long crawl to the edge of the bed and luckily, he made it without ever waking up the sleeping couple and began to find his clothes that lay mixed in between suit and Romana's extravagant red dress she wore to the ball last night and began to get dressed.

Romana rolled onto her back, the top of her breasts bare as she slept and Braxiatel took a minute to admire her before his eyes glazed over to .

What had he gotten himself into?

* * *

"Where were you last night?" Bernice Summerfield asked him with her arms folded across her chest as he slipped into his office like a snake would slip back into its nest discreetly after a hunt only he wasn't as discreet as he would have liked to have been.

"You know where I was Bernice," He replied calmly without so much as glancing at her as he sat down at his 16th-century Russian desk that he had enquired during an antique visit to Moscow a few years ago. He managed to get it for a decent price to as he bribed the owner to bring the price down. Sometimes it paid to be authoritative. "I explained it to you two days ago when you were last here."

Benny tilted her head. "I know where you were, you said you were going to the annual winter ball at the school you teach at. But I'm quite certain balls don't let you go all night. Plus, you didn't come back home."  
"Bernice," He replied calmly, a hint of annoyance could be detected within his tone of voice as he looked up at perhaps one of his oldest friend's and colleagues. She had been with him ever since the early days of the Collection. "You do not need to know the whereabout's of every single one of my movements. What I did after the ball is of no concern to you."

Benny rolled her and without another word, put down today's newspaper on his desk and pushed it towards him.

Curiously, he put on his glasses and brought the newspaper closer. A part of him filled with dread and a part of him filled with curiosity but it wasn't what he expected at all.

"Annual Charity Winter Ball was a success at Prydonian Academy," He read out the headline and he arched an eyebrow at Benny and on the front, there was a picture. He looked relieved as for a few moments, he thought his affair with Romana and Narvin had made the headlines. "I still don't see what you are trying to tell me, Bernice,"

"Turn to page three, the second article."

He arched an eyebrow but he complied and turned to the exact page he was instructed to and his eyes found the paragraph. "Murder investigation of Inquisitor Darkel case has been reopened by Detective and wife Romana."

They lied to him. They had used him. wasn't just a simple technician, he was an undercover agent who was investigating a reopened case that had been abandoned 25 years previously and they had used him to get close to the evidence.

He put down the newspaper, his mind mulling.

"Didn't you used to work with ?" Benny asked, interrupting Braxiatel's thoughts as her voice drew him back to reality. "Back when you worked on the local council?"

"For a few years, yes. She wasn't exactly the most likeable women to work with."

"I gathered, perhaps it is one of the reason's why she was murdered," She joked and Braxiatel narrowed his eyes at her and Benny cleared her throat. "Sorry, I shouldn't joke about things like that. Were you close to her? Perhaps you could help them give some new information?"

"No, I wasn't close to Darkel. Whatever information I gave to the police 25 years ago should still be on their records whether that be paper or on the computer if they were careful enough. I have no new evidence to give them apart from the same old stories."

"But these are different investigators! Surely you would want to help?"

"Bernice!" He snapped. He only ever used her full name if he ever got annoyed with her and in this case, he did. "The answer is no. If the investigators do come to me, then I will happily oblige to give the same information again. But until then, I don't see why I have to go to them when they can come to me." He sighed, running a hand through his salt and pepper coloured hair. "Now if you would excuse me, I have some important work to catch up on. I will see you this evening in the White Rabbit."

Benny paused, tentative as she looked at her oldest friend. They have been friends ever since the Collection first started when Benny had accidentally called him over egotistical for having a Collection named after himself without realising who he was but in all the times she knew him, he has never raised his voice at her. Oh, she has seen him get angry and frustrated, but that was always seeing other people at the end of the stick.

Now it was her and she couldn't help but feel like a naughty school girl being told off by the teacher for causing too much ruckus in class.

She collected herself, straightening her leather jacket she always wore. "All right, fine." She snapped slightly and she turned and headed towards the door, giving Braxiatel a rude gesture and left him to figure it out what it meant. "I'll see you at the White Rabbit."

Braxiatel watched her disappear out of the room and when the door was shut firmly too, Braxiatel pinched his nose and sighed.

He got out of his chair and walked over to a small, rounded table beside the window which overlooked the gardens where a glass chessboard was neatly laid out. He picked up a black pawn in his hands, twirling it in his fingers.

If Romana and Narvin wanted to play games, then they had to realise they were playing games with the wrong person.

If Romana and Narvin truly wanted him or were truly interested in him why would they lie? Why keep their true identities hidden if they wanted him to be part of their relationship? Or did they want him simply because of what happened 25 years ago?

He contemplated before he made his move as he placed the pawn back down, his decision final.

He wasn't going to be the pawn in their game.

He was going to be the chess Master and he was going to win.

Whether they were ready or not.

He was coming.


End file.
